Growing Together
by butterflycullen429
Summary: When Katniss finally realizes her love for Peeta. Do not read if you have not read the series. Contains spoilers for Mokingjay.Rated T to be safe.


Peeta and I grow back together.

We all know that we'll never be the same, that's a given. The rebellion changed everybody. It changed the Capitol's government, and put an end to the Hunger Games forever. The rebellion changed the conditions of districts, nobody starves or goes hungry anymore. Most of all, it changed me. It turned me into the monkingjay, and made me realize who I really loved. Peeta. The dandelion in the spring that means hope and rebirth, not rage and revenge.

I have gained so much from the rebellion. Freedom being the main thing. Freedom from the games, and to live the way I want. I also lost a lot from the rebellion. My litle sister, Prim, who couldn't hurt a fly, was murdered. The question of who sent the bombs is one that will probably never be answered.

I've been rebuilding everything. My relationship with my mother, Gale and Peeta, but most of all, my heart. I'm rebuilding my heart that shattered into a million pieces during the 's helping me.

After he and I both learned of my love for him we didn't exactly jump into a relationship right away. We took it slow, learned to trust each other, and ourselves, all over again. Peeta was kept in the Capitol for some time after the rebellion ended to make sure he wouldn't try to kill me in a trackerjacker venom induced rage. He still has flashbacks, though rarely, and during those we just have to hold on tight to each other and get through it.

The nightmares never go away completely, but they become rare. Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night screaming Prim's name, Peeta is always there for me. Holding my hand and reminding me that it's over. Eventually his lips are there for me to.

_Flash back_

_I run towards my sister, hoping I'll reach her in time to save her, but knowing that I won't._

_''Prim!'' I know shouting won't help either, but I have to try everything to prevent what I know is coming._

_I keep shouting, and then I see the hovercraft appear. The parachutes rain down. The first explosion going off, and then the others._

_Through all this I'm shouting Prim's name over and over again until my voice is drowned out by another._

_''Katniss, wake up. It's just a dream. It's not real.'' I hear the words, but can't seem to pinpoint where they're coming from._

_I open my eyes to see bright blue ones shadowed with worry. Then I remember. My dream. Once I think about it, I can't help the torrent of tears that rain down for all those lost children._

_Peeta knows no amount of words can comfort me, so he just wordlessly pulls me into the circle of his arms. I can't seem to get a hold on myself._

_It's not the first time I'm grateful for Peetas arms, but it's the first time they aren't enough to chase the nightmares away. I lift my head and give an experimental kiss to his lips, and find instant relief. His warm, yielding lips against mine make me forget my nightmare. The kiss doesn't last long, three seconds at most, but it's enough to make me want another. Just like the kiss on the beach during the Quarter Quell._

_I then become painfully aware that this is the first kiss we've shared where it's just us. There are no camras to pretend for that we're in love, and no sponsors to gain. It's just Peeta and I, not pretending. I also realize that I am the one who initiated the kiss, not Peeta. _

_I decide then and there to be bold, and I initiate another one. _

_So after, when he whispers, ''You love me. Real or not real?''_

_I tell him, ''Real.''_

_End Flashback_

That's when I realized that I loved him. We still took things slow, but we were together.

W aren't healed, not completely, and we never will be. We will always have the terrible visions from the Hunger Games and the rebellion, but we're getting better. We aren't afraid that bombs are going to come to destroy District 12 if we don't act completely in love while at a party. We are no longer afraid that the Capitol will take everything we love away from us.

We aren't fearless, far from it, but we are getting better.


End file.
